His Darling Rosie
by ladyelainemalfoy
Summary: Rose Weasley, twenty four years of age, is to wed to Scorpius Malfoy. For so long, they were dating and when the time came that Scorpius asked for her hand, Ron Weasley, her father disagreed more than ever of the union. Dedicated to my father, this is for broadwaykat's Daddy Dearest Challenge @hpff


"He's mad at me, is he not Mama?" Rose Weasley whispered to the other witch as her father left, scoffing, when she offered to make him some tea upon entering the kitchen. She glanced warily and tiredly at his direction before taking her eyes back to her mother. Her mother was very beautiful, a woman of long brown curly hair, chocolate brown eyes, rosy skin and button nose, and she hadn't aged that much. Her magic was keeping her pretty, and people had told her that she was her carbon copy, only her hair was not as curly as hers had been when she was younger and its color was that of her fathers. Yes, Rose Weasley was the red-headed version of Hermione Granger-Weasley.

"No, sweetie, he isn't mad," Hermione replied, a small smile on her lips. The lines on her face weren't that many nor too recognizable, but it was there; the only sign of her aged beauty. She stroked Rose's hair as the younger witch sighed and propped her chin on her folded arms on the table. Scattered around them were fancy papers, large chart with small colored flags and push pins, ivory and silver ribbons, and things that were somehow related to Rose's wedding by the end of the month. No more than five and twenty of age, Rose Weasley was towed to the heir of the Malfoy family. No wonder Daddy huffed and scoffed whenever he's around, the girl thought harshly, frowning as she shoved the seating chart lightheartedly.

"No, none of that sweetheart," Hermione lightly admonished as she put down the intricate ribbon she had been tying up for the invitations. Rose merely looked at her mother and frowned deeper. She felt the woman's familiar hands stroked her lips, trying to wash the frown away. She kneaded the younger witch's forehead to brush the burrowed lines in between her eyebrows.

"Daddy isn't mad at you, Rosie darling. But you're he's only daughter and to his eyes you're still a baby." Hermione said softly, stroking Rose's red hair and sighing with sincere look in her eyes. Rose huffed indignantly but her mind told her that her mother was saying the truth. Hermione Granger never lied. But a part of her was sore by the treatment that her father was giving to her and her soon-to-be husband. She knew he didn't like Scorpius, but he had been terribly rude to him more than necessary since the announcement of their engagement. Her betrothed wouldn't tell her what happened when he asked her parents for her hand, but she had a feeling it was not a nice encounter.

"He's terribly rude to, Scor, and he wouldn't even glance my way. And mum, I'm not a baby." Rose said defiant, but a hint of defeat that even her own ears could hear. She was sure her mother heard it too, but she found that she didn't care. Rose just wanted her father to be happy for her.

"He was terribly rude to him, I know. And for that I'm sorry on his behalf. It was not necessary nor right in the first place. I'm dearly sorry to Scorpius and you, Rose for your father's behavior. And darling, I know you're not a baby anymore, you're a beautiful young woman, but I'm afraid, fathers had always been protective of their girls. Even more so your father. You know the Malfoys are not Weasley's best friends, centuries and generations of bad blood between them would not instantly cure because of your merge," Her mother said in her light voice. She could be stern, but whenever Rose was upset, Hermione always had that soothing voice to calm her nerves and anger down. No matter how logical and irritating her reasons were, that voice was bound to make something right, to let someone see the right.

"But I wish he'll make peace, just a bit of civility to the Malfoys. They've changed, and Scor loves me." Rose said petulantly, pouting as she placed her cheek on her folded arms, her face away to her mother. She heard the chair scoot closer to her and felt her mother's arms around her. It tugged her off the table and encrusted her in a big hug that her head was laying down on her mother's chest. That moment, Rose felt like she was ten again, and she was terribly sad that she'll leave for Hogwarts the next year and will leave her family for the first time. She felt unbidden tears in her eyes and she wiped them angrily before they rolled off her cheeks. Hermione's hand still stroked her hair.

"I know he does, and Daddy loves you too. He will see that, and he will come to terms, darling. He will, only in his own time." She whispered as she continued her loving touch. Rose buried her head and let her arms circle the woman's waist. Hermione rocked her lightly as if she was a child and then Rose couldn't keep her tears.

"But he was better before when we're only dating. I've been dating Scor for years now, Mummy. Why can't he come to terms now?" Rose cried; her words muffled by the shirt as she sobbed harder in Hermione's chest. The older woman's eyes were glistening of unshed tears, but her voice was calm and firm. Her heart tear into pieces as her baby cried in her arms because of her husband's childish behavior, yet Hermione couldn't fault either of them. Ron always had a sore spot for the Malfoys and to see his daughter in the verge of becoming one, it was too much for the man. "He's feeling like you're leaving him and you're exchanging him for a Malfoy, my dear. Please understand your father. His reasons may be terribly bent and irrational to us, but he's still a father. It's a father's job to protect his daughter," Hermione whispered and Rose stiffened.

The younger version of herself pulled back slightly and looked at her eyes indignantly. "But he's not losing me! I'm not leaving him. Only I'm having my own husband, but I'm still his Rose." She said defiantly through her tears. Hermione's lips turned into a sad smile and gave a small nod to her daughter. "I know darling, I know that. But Daddy doesn't." She whispered as her lips touched the girl's forehead with only one thought in her mind. _Soon, Ron, soon._

* * *

A knock on his door cut through the noise that the television filled the room. He had kept the volume to a higher level since the start of the wedding planning and to a much higher level when the planning became more frantic as the wedding approached. He rarely left the room nor did he really watch the show. Most of the times, Ron Weasley merely stared off in the space. His eyes flicked to the remote, clicked the mute button and silence filled the room, until the knock cut through the silence.

"Come in," he said in a gruff voice. Hermione's head poked through the narrow opening of the door. She had not lost her beauty through the years, nor had she lost her wit and high-kept morals. That even made her more beautiful in his eyes. Her eyes flicked to the contraption, saw the moving images but heard no sound. It was one of the appliances in their house that he had come to love. A frown formed in her lips and Ron knew what he was doing. "Someone wants to talk to you, Ronald. And please for both your sakes, reign that temper of yours," she said as she entered slightly, hands on her hips and eyes stern as she looked at him, although, Ron saw a flicker of sadness in them.

He merely gave a nod and turned his eyes on the television. It was a football game, he didn't even like either teams playing. He heard the door clicked shut and his eyes saw a younger version of his wife standing by the door, only she had red hair and she wasn't stern as her mother. She was actually shuffling her feet and looked very unconfident, quite unlike the Rose he had seen through the years.

He still couldn't believe his eyes, that the little bundle of pinkish skin and wispy auburn hair in his arms years ago was a dazzling young woman now. He couldn t believe that by the end of this month, she wouldn't be his girl anymore, and wouldn't carry his name. He had a feeling it will be the topic of today's conversation.

"Dad," Rose's voice rang in his ears and he shook himself away from his musings. She stared at him uneasily and Ron sighed in defeat. He beckoned her to come to him with one arm and Rose came rushing. She sobbed as she reached his arms and her head buried in his beck. "Shhh, shh." He cooed as he rubbed his hand circles on her back, like he always did when she come home crying. He left her sobs fill the air between them until they finally calmed.

Rose pulled back from his embrace, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and scooted a bit further from him on the bed. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I know you're mad at me for accepting Scorpius, but I love him so, Daddy. Please be happy for me. Please, walk me down the aisle on my wedding." She sobbed, but she wouldn't lift her eyes to look at him. Ron's heart broke as he stared at his little girl. In that moment, she was still a little girl and it pained him to see that he was the cause of her heart break.

"Rose, look at me." he ordered, stern but calm and almost silent. He looked at her with remorse and he mentally scolded himself. Hermione was right, he shouldn't have let his temper and personal grudges reign on him. He should have taken more control. He was now paying his debts, to the expense of his daughter's feelings. Rose slowly lifted her eyes to meet his, her expression pained and afraid. Ron could only sigh and force himself to accept his misgivings.

"I'm not mad at you, never mad." He started, looking away for a moment. He had never been one to be good with feelings but he owed his daughter the truth at the very least. "Your Scorpius was a good lad, I know. And I've seen love on both of you," he said as he continued. He couldn't, for the life of him, look at her eyes for fear that he might give up whatever little dignity he had right now. He needed that, even for a brief moment, to be the big bag father.

"He came here one day, asking for your hand. He's welcome here, you know that, perhaps not always, and with limits but he's welcome. But that moment, I felt something off in me. I knew he wouldn't be welcome for long, at least on my part." He ran a hand on his hair and sat down on the edge of the bed, his feet on the floor, and his elbows on his knees. Ron had his face on his both hands as he continued. He felt Rose shifted beside him but he never looked. "He's asking for your hand you see. And I was blind with anger."

"I knew you loved him, and he loves you. It was clear, but I'm a father, and a Weasley to top it all. The Malfoys are not a good family, not like ours and they had treated our family like dirt for centuries. In my mind and in my heart, Malfoys never changed. I'll be damned it I gave my daughter to this kind of family. I just couldn't accept that Malfoys change." His voiced sounded hoarse even in his ears.

"You see Rose, in my head, you're still like little bundle of cries in pink linen that clashed terribly in that wispy red hair of yours while your mother smiled tiredly at me in the delivery room. In my mind, you're still my baby and I ought to protect you. I didn't give Scorpius my blessing, but Hermione gave hers." Ron laughed mirthlessly and shook his head. He was still clutching his head as if he was in pain but in truth, he was only stopping himself from crying.

"I threatened to kill him you know," Ron said, and heard his daughter gasp. He felt ashamed for his antics, but it was past now. Rose needed the truth. "But of course I didn't, your mother saw to that. Your Scor begged to me, knelt before me and I didn't agree. I walked out of the room, but your mother followed me. She talked sense to me, I didn't listen. But you know the thing she said to me that made me agree to this engagement?" Ron stopped for a second, but didn't wait for Rose's reply. "She said that you'd be disappointed and you'll hate me."

"I stopped and Hermione left me to console the lad. When an hour passed, I went back and gave a curt nod. The boy almost kissed my shoes," he laughed again, with a little more humor than the first time. His eyes felt hot with tears but he didn't dare let them roll down his cheeks.

"That night, I knew I wouldn't be able to wholeheartedly agree to the wedding. I still had months to make you change your mind, and I thought that maybe ignoring you and being rude to the lad will change both your minds. But no, you decided to bloody continue. It pained me to see you hurt but I thought, I reasoned that I'm doing this for your own good, Rose. The Malfoys is bad kind." He said. He heard Rose huff and he held out a hand to stop her from reacting. He was not quite finished yet.

"But it was getting too long and too close to the wedding. You're stubborn, and your mum is too. She talked more sense to me, I refused to listen. And somehow in the process, I could you see you more hurt. I decided to ask myself if it's really worth it, my fight against your pain. It killed me, but I couldn't get myself to stop. You see, Rose, I feel like being stripped off of my flesh. I couldn't bear the thought that you're leaving me, and to a Malfoy that is." Ron's shoulder shook as he cried in his hand. "I just couldn't bear it." He cried, his voice muffled by his hand. He felt the weight shifted on his side and his daughter's hand encircle him. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and let him cry.

"You know I'm never leaving you, Daddy." She said softly, as soft as Hermione's voice when she's speaking truth and comfort to him and his children. She was truly her mother's daughter. "Not really. I may be taking Scorpius name, a Malfoy's name, bear his kids, but I'll never leave you. I'm still your daughter, your Rosie. I'm a red-head, Daddy. I'll never be a true Malfoy. I'm a Weasley by blood, and blood is always thicker than anything."

"I love Scorpius, his family Draco and Astoria, I do love them. But I love you most. You, mum and Hugo. You're my family, Daddy. And I only have only Dad in the world." She said firmly but with the same softness in it. "The Malfoys changed, and I love them. I'll be safe. And if anyone harmed me, you'll still be the first to know, because you're my father." She explained.

"You'll never lose me, Daddy. Never." Rose's finished off, taking his arms away from his face and kissing his cheek before she engulfed him into a hug. "I love you Daddy," she whispered. Ron hugged her back tighter and defeated. He had lost his battle, but he knew he was in the losing side since the beginning. She spoke the truth; he was just too stubborn to see it, to accept it. But he had opened his eyes now, and he knew he had not completely lost. He still had his daughter in the end. "I love you too, Rosie." he murmured as he pulled back from their hug and kissed her forehead. He felt her smile and his lips smiled too.

A sudden change of mood was necessary and it was done. She pulled back completely, and put her hand on her pocket. She fished out something in a small drawstring bag and smiled so wide that he felt his cheeks hurt for her. She took his hand and opened his palm up. Rose then shook the content of the bag out to his outstretched hand and fell a small silver bracelet. It was just a long and thin strand of silver, malleable enough to curl on his wrist. "Read the back, Daddy." She urged and Ron took the silver to inspect.

"World's best Daddy. I love you, from your little Rosie," it said. Ron's heart swelled up with love as he looked back to his little girl, all smiles and hope that he'll like it. "I love you too, Rose. More than you can measure and imagine."

"That'll be pretty long, large and heavy; your love is, because my imagination is quite endless." She said smartly before she threw her arms around him once more. Ron hugged her again, and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, it's endless." He whispered. "What's the gift for, by the way?" He asked curious, as they moved away from each other.

As if on cue, the door burst open. Party poppers popped and confetti and long ribbons boomed out of its end with a loud bang. Hermione entered with a small round cake, and Hugo cam trailing behind her with the empty tube in his hand. "Uh, nothing Dad. Just happy fathers' day for you," Rose said nonchalantly with a shrug. But the smile on her face betrayed her excitement. Soon, Hermione and Hugo greeted him as well, with the former a loving peck on the lips and the latter a huge hug and new Chudley Cannon's season tickets.

Ronald Weasley looked around him, with all the smiles and the love pouring out of his wife and children. The years may have passed by all of them, and their life had changed, but he knew one thing. He was the luckiest man alive, to be blessed with such a loving family. He couldn't ask for more, even if his daughter was to wed with the family he detested his whole life. For her, he'll be civil, because Ronald Weasley could not bear the thought of losing his daughter, _not now, not foreve_r. For now though, he was having the _best_ Fathers' Day of his life.

* * *

**This is done in honor of the upcoming Fathers' Day. Advance happy fathers' day to your dads. **

**-ladyelainemalfoy**


End file.
